writing-plans

name	writing-plans
description	Use when you have a spec or requirements for a multi-step task, before touching code

Writing Plans

Overview

Write comprehensive implementation plans assuming the engineer has zero context for our codebase and questionable taste. Document everything they need to know: which files to touch for each task, code, testing, docs they might need to check, how to test it. Give them the whole plan as bite-sized tasks. DRY. YAGNI. TDD. Frequent commits.

Assume they are a skilled developer, but know almost nothing about our toolset or problem domain. Assume they don't know good test design very well.

Announce at start: "I'm using the writing-plans skill to create the implementation plan."

Context: This should be run in a dedicated worktree (created by brainstorming skill).

Save plans to: docs/superpowers/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature-name>.md

• (User preferences for plan location override this default)

Scope Check

If the spec covers multiple independent subsystems, suggest breaking this into separate plans — one per subsystem. Each plan should produce working, testable software on its own.

File Structure

Before defining tasks, map out which files will be created or modified and what each one is responsible for.

• Design units with clear boundaries and well-defined interfaces
• Prefer smaller, focused files over large ones that do too much
• Files that change together should live together
• In existing codebases, follow established patterns

Bite-Sized Task Granularity

Each step is one action (2-5 minutes):

• "Write the failing test" - step
• "Run it to make sure it fails" - step
• "Implement the minimal code to make the test pass" - step
• "Run the tests and make sure they pass" - step
• "Commit" - step

Plan Document Header

Every plan MUST start with this header:

# [Feature Name] Implementation Plan

> **For agentic workers:** REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use superpowers:subagent-driven-development (recommended) or superpowers:executing-plans to implement this plan task-by-task. Steps use checkbox (`- [ ]`) syntax for tracking.

**Goal:** [One sentence describing what this builds]

**Architecture:** [2-3 sentences about approach]

**Tech Stack:** [Key technologies/libraries]

---

Task Structure

### Task N: [Component Name]

**Files:**
- Create: `exact/path/to/file.py`
- Modify: `exact/path/to/existing.py:123-145`
- Test: `tests/exact/path/to/test.py`

- [ ] **Step 1: Write the failing test**

```python
def test_specific_behavior():
    result = function(input)
    assert result == expected

• Step 2: Run test to verify it fails

Run: pytest tests/path/test.py::test_name -v Expected: FAIL with "function not defined"

• Step 3: Write minimal implementation

def function(input):
    return expected

• Step 4: Run test to verify it passes

Run: pytest tests/path/test.py::test_name -v Expected: PASS

• Step 5: Commit

git add tests/path/test.py src/path/file.py
git commit -m "feat: add specific feature"

## Remember
- Exact file paths always
- Complete code in plan (no "add validation")
- Exact commands with expected output
- DRY, YAGNI, TDD, frequent commits

## Plan Review Loop

After writing the complete plan:

1. Dispatch a single plan-document-reviewer subagent with precisely crafted review context — never your session history
2. If ❌ Issues Found: fix the issues, re-dispatch reviewer for the whole plan
3. If ✅ Approved: proceed to execution handoff

**Review loop guidance:**
- Same agent that wrote the plan fixes it (preserves context)
- If loop exceeds 3 iterations, surface to human for guidance

## Execution Handoff

After saving the plan, offer execution choice:

**"Plan complete and saved to `docs/superpowers/plans/<filename>.md`. Two execution options:**

**1. Subagentic-Driven (recommended)** - I dispatch a fresh subagent per task, review between tasks, fast iteration

**2. Inline Execution** - Execute tasks in this session using executing-plans, batch execution with checkpoints

**Which approach?**

**If Subagentic-Driven chosen:**
- **REQUIRED SUB-SKILL:** Use superpowers:subagent-driven-development

**If Inline Execution chosen:**
- **REQUIRED SUB-SKILL:** Use superpowers:executing-plans